


Under Pressure

by GiveMeABreak80



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Frozen 2 (2019) Spoilers, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, Post-Frozen 2 (2019)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:20:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22250188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GiveMeABreak80/pseuds/GiveMeABreak80
Summary: Anna is overwhelmed by the struggles of being a Queen and has a panic attack. She goes to Elsa for help.
Relationships: Anna & Elsa (Disney)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 37





	Under Pressure

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so I'm too lazy to read this over, so I apologize for any mistakes. Please correct me if they bother you.  
> I don't *really* know what a panic attack is like but I was going for it and this is what I came up with, so I'm sorry for the inaccuracies.  
> As always, constructive criticism is welcome because I want to improve. :)

The queen of Arendelle looks outside and to her surprise, it’s already night. The moon and stars are shining brightly on her sleeping town.  _ I wish I was asleep _ . Anna was exhausted. The trade agreement she was working on with the Southern Islands was taking up all of her time; she couldn’t even play charades with her family tonight! Elsa only visits once every two weeks, and Anna can’t find the time to see her.  _ Elsa must understand _ , she tells herself,  _ she was once queen too _ .  _ Focus Anna focus _ , she turns her gaze back to the paper in front of her.  _ This is going to be so hard. I can’t do it. They’re not going to agree to anything and it will hurt my kingdom. We’ll die, and it’s my fault. My fault. _ Panicked thoughts swim in the queen’s head. All of Anna’s fears resurface. Her heart rate starts to increase with her breathing. The inklings of a panic attack are starting to pull at Anna’s brain. The last sane part of her brain yells at her to go to Elsa, she’ll be in her room.  _ Get help! _ Jolted, Anna stands up and starts to run to her older sister’s room.  _ Please please please let her be there _ . The young woman almost collapses into Elsa’s door, only barely managing to open it, eyes wide, tears streaming down her face, and breathing in short bursts.

“Anna? Are you ok? What’s-“ Her sister cuts herself off when she sees Anna sink to the floor, gasping for breath and shaking like a leaf. The younger sister feels Elsa run over and hug her, holding her together. Gracefully, the magical woman brings Anna onto her lap as she sits on the wood floor.

“Hey, hey,” Elsa tries to soothe her, but it’s too late. Anna’s panic attack is in full force now. She feels the walls close in and she can’t catch her breath. Her thoughts fly around in her brain, too fast for her to grab on to. Anna feels herself begin to float away from her problems, away from the panic, away from her body. Life is beginning to feel distant and unreal. She sees herself from above, a small, shaking girl being held and comforted by her older sister. Seconds later, she feels an icy cold object touch her hand, dragging her back down into her body, into herself. Elsa, having familiarity with her sister, saw the queen’s eyes become distant and her body become limp, surefire signs of disassociation, which is a common side effect of a panic attack. This is why she immediately created a smooth ball of ice which she held to her Anna’s palm to ground her. Anna, however, is not happy about this. Now she’s forced to be in her trembling body, powerless and utterly terrified. Tears won’t stop falling from her eyes, her thoughts are so so fast, and it feels as if walls are crushing her. But that piece of ice keeps her present while Elsa is telling her something. Anna uses all of her energy to try to focus on what her sister is saying to her.

“Breathe, Anna. Slow and steady. Breathe with me.” Anna switches her sliver of focus over to her breathing, trying to match it with the rise and fall of her sister’s chest.

_ In for three, hold for three, out for three, hold for three. _ Anna remembers her mantra that helped her keep it together throughout her childhood.

Her breathing begins to slow, her heart rate starts to decline to a healthy beat, and her thoughts begin to become calmer and slower.

“It’s ok. It’s all ok.” Elsa continues to whisper reassuring words in Anna’s ear. Her older sister continues to hold Anna’s small frame, which is shaking considerably less. The queen feels her body start to relax and she slumps down into Elsa’s comforting hold. Tears stop falling and she starts to calm down.

After a minute, she hears Elsa’s voice again. “Are you ok?” The former queen looks down at her sister, concern written all over her face.

“Yeah - I - sorry that was,,, How long?”

“You were in a panic attack for four minutes.”

_ Gosh _ , Anna thought,  _ four minutes is one of my longer ones _ . She begins to shift away, “sorry, hopefully I didn’t bother you too much.”

“Hey, no, you didn’t bother me at all.” Elsa, still looking worried, keeps her hold on Anna. Too weak to escape, the queen sinks down in her sister's grasp again, realizing her exhaustion.

“Can you tell me what caused this?” Her sister questions.

“Uh,, yeah. It’s the stupid trade agreement with the Southern Islands. We’ve been negotiating for almost a week now and nothing has been agreed upon. It’s been taking up all of my time; I have to take meals in my office and I can only get a few hours of sleep each night. I just want it to be done because it’s tearing me apart.” Anna rambles on, frustration evident.

“Oh, I see.” Her sister hesitates. “I do have some experience with that, so if it’s alright, maybe I can help you?” Elsa offers.

Anna doesn’t like the idea of depending on her older sister, but she knows it’s ok to accept help, and she realizes that she actually really needs it. “Sure.” The queen mumbles as her eyes start to close.

Elsa giggles down at her sister, “we should get you into bed, you look exhausted.”

“I am.”

Her older sister scoops her up with little trouble (wow she must be getting stronger from living in the forest) and places her down onto her bed. “You can sleep with me, I’ll tell Kristoff where you are.”

Too tired to protest, Anna sinks into the mattress, eyes closed. But her thoughts still plague her.  _ What am I gonna do? _ Anna’s eyes snap open and she starts to breathe a little heavier.  _ Oh god, please not again _ . She tries to squeeze her eyes shut and tame her breathing, to little avail. Thankfully, her sister comes back right at that moment to see Anna struggling again.

“Oh, Anna.” She hurries over and wraps her arms around her sister. “It’s going to be ok, I promise. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

Anna nods, eyes still squeezed shut, but relaxes into Elsa’s hug. Her older sister starts to sing her mother’s old lullaby to her, gently lulling the queen to sleep with her calming voice.

—

[Elsa POV]

Elsa wakes to sunlight filtering in through her window and catches her eye on her little sister. She’s curled up in a ball, holding onto Elsa’s arm. Elsa smiles, appreciating her sister’s peace and starts to run her free hand through Anna’s hair. The magical woman was so grateful that Anna had come to her last night; that Anna had trusted her enough to allow Elsa to help her. About a year ago, in an attempt to communicate, Anna had opened up about her lifelong struggle with anxiety, which, she had tried to avoid to mention, was a result of Elsa’s isolation. So it was only fair that Elsa told her up about her struggles with self-image, depression, and self-harm, which also started when Elsa was separated from her sister and her powers regarded as something bad.

Minutes pass and finally Anna wakes and groans at the light shining straight into her eyes. However she quickly realizes she is not in her own room and turns around to see Elsa smiling at her.

“Morning,” Elsa greets her sister.

“Mmm. Morning.” Anna closes her eyes again. Seconds later, her eyes snap open. “Wait! No! I - what time is it? I gotta go.”

“Hey, no, you were catching up on needed sleep-“

“No! My sleep will come after I get the agreement done!” Her sister wrenches herself out of Elsa’s bed.

Elsa immediately follows and says, “I will help you with the trade agreement, it’s ok. You can do this. And you deserve sleep.”

Tears start to well up in her sister's eyes, “I-I’m,” she sniffles, “I’m sorry, you’re right.”

“Oh gosh, I’m sorry for last night too I don’t-“ Anna’s face turns red in shame.

The magical woman tilts Anna’s gaze up with a finger on her sister’s chin. “Hey, you have nothing to be sorry about. You can’t control your fears, so I will have none of that, ok? You have nothing to be embarrassed about. I care about you and I’m so grateful you came to me last night. Thank you.” Elsa envelopes Anna in a hug.

Her sister went silent for a moment, then let out a, “thank you too,” and hugs Elsa harder.

“Shall we go eat some breakfast and then absolutely own this negotiation?” The icy woman suggests

Elsa feels Anna smile against her shoulder. “Yeah. Let’s go do this.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
